


Can't Win

by txmedic37



Category: Castle
Genre: Episode Tag, Gen, I Witness one-shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 09:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3285815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/txmedic37/pseuds/txmedic37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A post-ep one-shot for I, Witness.  Ryan can't win for losing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Win

_An_ I, Witness  _post-episode one shot._ Castle _belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe. No profit is made._

 

 

**Can't Win**

 

 

By the time they handed over custody of the lawyer to Detective Neely and Officer Kemp, it was already late. Then there was the uncomfortable ride back to the 12 th with his partner, Esposito grinning smugly the whole way and rubbing in how much he looked forward to his upcoming date. Ryan had grit his teeth and forced himself to act like it wasn't bothering him. Now, his partner had gone for the night after first getting in a few last digs at leaving Ryan with the paperwork. Kevin's punishment for trying to do right by both his wife and his partner.

 

The bullpen was quiet and the only light in the dimness of the late-evening was the one on his own desk. Ryan propped his elbow on his desk calendar and cradled his chin in his hand with a moan. He'd known signing Javier up on Match.com had been a recipe for disaster, but had gone along with Jenny because he genuinely wanted to help his partner move on and enter the dating pool once more. Finding someone to round out their foursome for the couples weekend would've been a plus. 

 

As soon as Javier had told him he knew Kevin had created a Match.com page, Ryan had known he was doomed. Espo had him by the short-and-curlies. They were going to have to spend a couples weekend with the one woman they'd purposely tried to avoid Javier knowing about. What in the world would Jenny have in common with a woman who was a spoken word artist/exotic dancer? Now he was stuck with all of their paperwork, he would be really late getting home, and he had to break the bad news to Jenny once he got there.

 

Why was it that every time he tried to do something good, it backfired on him? When he tried to keep Jenny from knowing he was going to ask her father for his blessing, she almost broke up with him for lying. He went to Gates for backup for Esposito and Beckett, and had to endure Javier's anger for weeks. Went undercover to save Siobhan's life, and pissed off his wife. Tried to arrange a nice dinner with himself, Jenny, Javi and Lanie so the girls could get to know each other better...and caused the other couple to break up instead.

 

Of course, Javi and Lanie had been on-again/off-again for years. Who knew if they were off this time for good, or not? But Kevin thought it was time for Javi to get back in the game and see if his One was out there. And, once again, his efforts had backfired. Esposito would milk the Match.com thing for months, Kevin was sure. With a sigh, he opened the file on his desk and picked up his pen. The longer he brooded, the later he'd be. Breaking the news to Jenny would be easier if she wasn't already mad at him for being so late.

 

It had taken two hours to complete all of the paperwork on their part of the investigation and arrest. Ryan was beginning to think they did  _more_ work since Castle got kicked off the team, instead of less. He hoped the brass saw the error of their ways, soon, and allowed the writer to rejoin the 12 th as a consultant. They could keep a shorter leash on Castle that way.

 

Shuffling all of the paperwork into the case folder, Kevin dropped it into his Out box. He grabbed an evidence box and filled it with everything they'd tacked up on the murder board, marked the box with the date, victim's name and case number. He logged it into evidence, then returned to the bullpen to grab his jacket and keys. Ryan clicked off his desk lamp and hurried down the stairs to the ground floor. The drive home was spent practicing, trying to find the best way to break the news to Jenny.

 

When Kevin entered their apartment and locked the door behind him, Jenny called out to him from the kitchen. He sighed and hung his jacket in the closet, tossed his keys and wallet on the coffee table and went to the bedroom to lock up his service weapon. He shed his dress shirt and tie, kicked off his shoes and went to peek in on Sarah Grace. Kevin spent a few minutes leaning against the crib, running his hand gently over his daughter's baby soft curls, letting the stress and weariness of the day drain away. Feeling much better, as he always did in the presence of his little angel, Kevin squared his shoulders and went in search of his wife.

 

Jenny was still in the kitchen, washing up the dishes used to cook dinner. They had a dishwasher, but she said she enjoyed the mindless chore and used it to decompress from the day. That was a good sign. Stepping up behind her, Kevin wrapped his arms around his petite wife and rested his chin on the crown of her head, breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo.

 

Leaning back against him, Jenny tilted her head back for a kiss. “You're awfully late tonight, Kev. You catch the bad guy?”

 

“Bad girl, but yeah. We got her.”

 

“That's good. I left your plate in the oven to stay warm. Did you get a chance to talk to Javi about the date?”

 

Stiffening a little at the question, Kevin cleared his throat nervously. “Um, yeah. He, uh, met her for lunch.”

 

“Really?” Jenny wiped her hands on a dish towel and turned in Kevin's arms to lean against the counter. She smiled and clasped his arms excitedly. “Well? How did it go?”

 

With a sort of grimacing smile, Kevin shrugged and shook his head. “Well, I have good news and bad news. And good news, and bad news.”

 

Jenny's smile slipped and she frowned a little in confusion. “Didn't he like her?”

 

“Well, he went to a lunch date with her. Thought she was a stalker and almost arrested her. Javi found out about the Match.com profile we created for him, Jen.”

 

“Oops.” Laughing at her husband's discomfort, Jenny wrapped her arms around his narrow waist. “I take it that he wasn't thrilled.”

 

“Not so much, no. I had to do all the paperwork tonight. And I'm sure he'll find other ways to extract his revenge. The good news is that he didn't completely dismiss the idea of online dating.”

 

“Kevin, that's wonderful! Maybe he can still find someone in time for our vacation.”

 

Clearing his throat, Kevin chuckled nervously. “Oh, he found someone he liked already. He arranged to meet her and says she'll be going with him to our couples holiday.”

 

“Oh! Which one was she? The teacher who loved to do triathlons? The court clerk? Oh, I know! The personal trainer.”

 

Wincing, Kevin shook his head. “The spoken word poet slash exotic dancer.”

 

“The one we rejected?”

 

“I'm afraid so, honey.”

 

Pulling away from her husband, Jenny narrowed her eyes and braced her hands on her hips. “And just what am I supposed to talk about with her?”

 

“Honey, it might not be so bad.” Kevin tried to put a positive spin on it, hoping to salvage the vacation he'd worked so hard to save the money for. “Look at it this way: Exotic dancing is really good exercise. Just think of it as getting a good workout.”

 

At the look of disbelief on his wife's face, Kevin almost brought up Gyrating Jenny. Almost. Luckily, his sense of self-preservation kicked in at the last second. “And, and...you like poetry. Spoken word is just a way for her to express herself, right? Think of it as poetry. To really bad jazz.” 

 

At Jenny's narrow-eyed glare, Kevin scrambled for a way to spin it. “Look, if Javi hits it off with this woman then they'll probably spend most of their time in their room.” 

 

He wasn't making much headway, so he tried again. “And, uh, if they're so busy in  _their_ room then we'll be busy in  _our_ room...and, uh...maybe we'll end up with a little brother or sister for Sarah Grace?”

 

Jenny couldn't help laughing at her husband's expression of utter desperation. She leaned into his embrace and rested her cheek against his collarbone. “Well, I guess there could be worse ways to pass a vacation than spending it in bed with my husband. And, who knows. Maybe this woman will turn out to be really good for Javier.”

 

Wrapping his arms around Jenny, Kevin breathed an internal sigh of relief. Maybe he'd win this one after all.

 

 

 


End file.
